My 2012 Big Year

Friday, 6 January 2012

Long walk on an amazing day in January

I never thought birding would be easy, but i did hope it would be just a little easier than it really is, especially for a beginner like me. Day 6 of 366 was a good day for me. I drove out to Hamilton and walked the Waterfront Trail along the Great Western Railway Line and saw many, many, many waterbirds, many of which I actually remembered, though I still needed a little nudge and reminder as there are a lot of those ducky types and they do have similar looks and I don't have a great memory for names, so it is quite taxing on my mind. Yet I will keep going and keep asking for help. And that's the beautiful thing about birding. It's a non-competitive sport. And everyone loves to help, especially the experienced birders, who enjoyed taking me under their wing, so to speak, and point out the birds I'd have surely missed on my own. As I walked along, I met so many nice birders, with their binoculars and cameras, who were willing to either point out birds or point me in the right direction. And thus, I was able to spy 5 new year birds, four of which were Life Birds for me. Cool!

And so, as each day passes I am loving this more and more. Who knew? Well the birders knew. As one said to me, today, "It's awfully addictive, isn't it?" Especially for me, since almost every bird is a new bird and every day there is a new challenge. It's fun, exciting and, dare I say, cool.

And as far as cool sightings today, there was the Double Crested Cormorant,(I had help for that); Bald Eagle; Hooded Merganser,(Yes, I had help for that too); Belted Kingfisher,(Saw that on my own, thank you); And the Black-Crowned Night Heron that I didn't realize was there until after I snapped the photo of the Hooded Meganser. Speaking of which, I now have the Merganser Trifecta! Yeah me!